1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a solar collector comprising collector tubes for heating a fluid medium, in particular, water, connected to the housing of a distribution and collecting unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
The collector tubes, which are in the form of vacuum tubes, of a solar collector of the aforementioned kind described in German patent document 198 21 137 A1 are comprised of: an outer envelope tube of borosilicate glass whose lower mantle half is provided at the inner side of the tube with a reflector coating made of silver; an absorber tube of borosilicate glass arranged within the lower mantle half of the envelope tube and having an absorption layer; and a supply pipe inserted into the absorber tube for supplying the fluid to be heated, in particular, water. The envelope tube is inserted with one end closed off by a lid into a corresponding opening of a distribution and collecting unit made of plastic material and connected thereto by gluing. The other closed end of the envelope tube is seated in a corresponding opening of a base attachment and is connected thereto by gluing. The housing of the distribution and collecting unit is divided by a partition into a distribution channel for the cold liquid and into a collecting channel for the heated liquid. The supply pipe for the cold liquid is inserted into a through bore, arranged in the partition between the distribution channel and the connecting channel and extending into the distribution channel, and is glued to the partition; it passes through the collecting channel of the distribution and collecting unit and extends through the absorber tube into the area of the closed end of the absorber tube. The absorber tube is inserted with its open end into a bore, arranged in the housing wall of the distribution and collecting unit and opening into the collecting channel, and is glued thereto; it projects through an opening of the closure lid of the envelope tube into the envelope tube and extends with its closed end into the area of the closed end of the envelope tube evacuated by means of a socket provided in its closure lid. The liquid to be heated, i.e., the heat energy carrier medium, flows from the distribution channel of the distribution and collecting unit through the supply pipe into the absorber tube, is heated in the absorber tube, and flows into the collecting channel of the distribution and collecting unit.
The known tube collector can be mounted as a modular system on roofs and walls of buildings. As a function of the mounting conditions and the proposed thermal output, modules with identical and different numbers of tubes can be used and the individual modules of a solar collector device can be sequentially connected in series.
The significant disadvantage of solar collectors according to German patent document 198 21 137 A1 is to be seen in that the collector modules, as a function of the mounting conditions, can be aligned only to a limited extent relative to the solar radiation for the purpose of obtaining a thermal output as high as possible. Moreover, mounting of the modules is complex because the modules, depending on their size, are correspondingly bulky so that their transport to the location of mounting is cumbersome.
The invention has the object to develop a solar collector which is characterized by a simple mounting action and whose collector tubes, with respect to the greatest possible heat energy yield, can be adjusted optimally to the solar radiation independent of the respective mounting conditions.
In accordance with the invention, this object is solved by a solar collector wherein the collector tubes have an adaptor having a rotary closure like a bayonet closure for connecting the tubes to a distribution channel and a collecting channel of the housing of the distribution and collecting unit and further having a rotary adjustability for alignment of the collector tubes relative to the solar radiation.
The solar collector according to the invention has the following advantages.
The collector tubes can be connected at the mounting location individually by means of a bayonet closure in a simple way to the housing of the distribution and collecting unit of the solar collector and, with respect to an optimal efficiency of the collector, can be aligned by a rotary adjustment about a certain angular range relative to the solar radiation. Because of the possibility of individual mounting of the collector tubes, the mounting of the solar collector on finished roofs is simple because the individual parts of the solar collectors can be transported by a technician onto the roof and can be assembled there. Moreover, the solar collectors can be provided as a modular system wherein the pre-mounted collector modules for mounting on large-size roof areas, for example, in the case of industrial buildings, can be transported to the mounting location on the roof by means of a lifting device, in particular, by means of a crane.